William Francis Quinn

Quinn, William Francis, 1919–2006, U.S. politician, first governor (1959–62) of the state of Hawaii, b. Rochester, N.Y., grad. St. Louis Univ. (1940), Harvard Law School (1947). Quinn served in Hawaii while in the Navy during World War II. He practiced law (1947–57) in Honolulu and entered politics in 1956, losing an election for the territorial senate. A Republican, he was appointed (1957) governor of the territory of Hawaii by President Eisenhower and after statehood (1959) was elected governor in Hawaii's first gubernatorial election. He had a pivotal role in formulating and implementing many of the changes in government necessitated by the transition from territory to state, and also advocated land reform and the development of islands beyond crowded Oahu. In 1962 Quinn lost a bid for a second term.